Letter from the Editor 8 October 2011

Dear All,

 

I hope you are well and have had a good week. I spent much of mine reporting from the Conservative Party Conference, so I would like to thank Emma Brooks and Josh Cowls for holding the fort so admirably. I would also like to thank Chris McCarthy for sending out a very thoughtful letter explaining his new position as Editor-at-Large, and remembering the successes we have achieved.

 

He also kicked off the week with an excellent analysis of David Cameron’s speech from the 2005 Conservative Party Conference. Meanwhile, in Manchester, George Osborne unveiled his plans to extend the council tax freeze. Greece announced that although it would manage to cut its budget deficit, it would fail to meet the targets set by the EU and IMF.

 

Texas Governor Rick Perry suggested US military intervention to tackle Mexico’s drug wars, prompting this week’s call for features on the situation.

 

On Tuesday, Amanda Knox flew home after being acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher. As she was released, two Somali men were sentenced to life imprisonment in the US for participating in the deadly hijacking of a yacht off the coast of Africa. In Britain, senior doctors vocalised their criticisms of NHS reforms.

 

Somalia appeared in the news again on Wednesday, as a suicide car bomb killed at least 70 people in the capital. China and Russia also vetoed the UN resolution condemning the violence in Syria during the crackdown in protesters, despite the amendments which had been made to reduce the chance of such vetoes.

 

Steve Jobs, Apple’s former chief executive and co-founder, died at the age of 56 on Thursday. On the same day, Sarah Palin announced that she would not be running for President in 2012.

 

Samuel Perriman used his Middle East column to give an illuminating account ofTurkey’s new role after the Arab Spring.

 

Friday saw Gaddafi ordering mass protests against the interim government, and Syrian forces crossed the border with Lebanon to kill a man, suggesting that the unrest is still spreading throughout the Middle East.

 

Nishit Morsawala provided this week’s cultural content with this piece on the Simpsons pay dispute.

 

The article of the week is Alexander Bryan’s piece on NHS reforms.

 

Very much looking forward to hearing what you all have to say next week!

 

Very best,

 

Laura